Thursday 20 November 2008

Weekend Championship Preview, Game 18

First, I thought England put in a very good defensive display last night which gave the platform their 2-1 victory in Berlin. John Terry has never been one of my favourite people but there's no arguing with his footballing abilities and he got a bit more respect from me last night for actually making the game after an injury scare, unlike all of the other "pull-outs" as he referred to them. What's more, I thought he gave a real Captain's interview after the game, talking up his colleagues and talking responsibility for the mix-up with the blighted Scott Carson that lead to Germany's goal. At least Capello looks to have got the captaincy decision correct.

Scotland meanwhile, played out a predictable 1-0 defeat at home to Argentina. The Argies didn't get out of second gear all evening and Scotland simply couldn't create any real period of pressure. 

I'm looking forward to a Valley match after a three week break and we are in dire need of a morale-boosting win - our last was October 4th against Ipswich. 

Swansea City v Birmingham City
The Blues will be trying to close the gap on Wolves in this Friday night encounter. Presumably it's been moved to a Friday to limit any potential crowd trouble, so expect some anyway. Swansea can climb into an unlikely play-off spot with a win here and they could just do it.
Prediction; 2-1

Doncaster got their third win of the season last time out and will be looking to move level on wins with the Addicks. Burnley should be too strong after a fine 2-1 win at QPR.
Prediction; 2-0

On paper this should be a home win. United have been vulnerable on the road having lost at Birmingham, Derby, Norwich and Sheffield Wednesday. All were by the odd goal and they have managed wins at lowly Blackpool, Barnsley and Doncaster. This should indicate that this is a winnable match if we put in a spirited performance like the last two and avoid any silly mistakes or unfortunate referring incidents. I am not yet convinced we have turned any corners and won't begin to believe until we have managed back-to-back wins. A draw would be another disappointing result which would keep Pards hanging on, and I can see us getting a point.
Prediction; 1-1

No love lost here after City knocked Neil Warnock's troops out of the play-offs. Hard to call but I'm going for a City win based on their impressive away form and Palace's glass chin.
Prediction; 1-2

Derby beat Wednesday 3-0 at home last week whilst Ipswich went down 1-0 at Doncatser Rovers. Both sides need the points to stay in touch with the play-off, but home advantage may tell.
Prediction; 1-0

Norwich are making a bad job of getting clear of the drop zone and hover a point and a place above us. Forest are no great shakes but continue to battle in most of their games and won a good point at Ashton gate last time out. I'll take them here to win only their second home game of the season.

Good match in prospect here. Both sides are over-performing in my book. Cardiff have only lost three times in the league and don't give much a way from home. This looks like being a very close match and one goal might settle it.
Prediction; 0-1

The Tykes have pulled away from the bottom and find themselves in mid-table. A win at Preston would see them draw level with Preston on 25 points but I think that's expecting too much.
Prediction; 2-0

Ouch! I can see Saints getting a hiding here. Jason Euell was sent off at home to Wolves on Saturday and four others were booked. Tempers are clearly fraying and they will find a lot more frustration in store here.
Prediction; 4-0

Straight home win here. Coventry have been terribly inconsistent this year and Wednesday have won five at home already.
Prediction; 2-0

Rangers new manager Paulo Sousa will take charge of his first game and it will be interesting to see what response he gets from the players. His appointment is another strange one for me. He looks a prospect on paper in that he played at the highest levels but has limited management experience albeit in a support role with the Portugese national side under Scolari. This looks typical of QPR at the moment i.e. hoping to get lucky on the cheap. The players won't know him and he's still relatively young. He might need to win some respect before he gets more out of this squad of players. Watford haven't exactly set the ground alight for Malky McKay either so it will probably be a very close game. If it's not a draw I'll tip Watford to edge it.
Prediction; 1-0

Wolverhampton Wanderers v Blackpool
The Old Gold march on. They have a six point lead at the top and I can't see any chance of it being cut this weekend even if Blackpool have a party-pooper reputation.
Prediction; 3-1

Let's get behind the Addicks on Saturday and make sure they have no excuses in terms of lack of support if things don't go well. Come on you Reds!

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